Oklahoma Speculation Will Net Kliff Kingsbury a Big Contract Extension

Almost as soon as Lincoln Riley's move to USC was announced, speculation centered on one candidate to replace him. Kliff Kingsbury's name has been flying around for a few hours and it has become crystal clear that he'll leverage that chatter for a huge contract extension from the Arizona Cardinals.

Kingsbury spent six seasons as a college head coach at his alma mater Texas Tech. He went 8-5 in his first year back in 2013 and never reached those "heights" again. He went 4-8, 7-6, 5-7, 6-7 and 5-7 before he was let go. A brilliant offensive mind who simply couldn't figure out how to run a college program.

The Cardinals saw his potential though, and hired him in 2019. he went 5-10-1 in his first season, but in 2020 things started to come together in Arizona. The Cards went 8-8 and were clearly on the rise. This season they are an NFL-best 9-2 as they have their bye this week.

Kingsbury has a tight relationship with his rising star quarterback, Kyler Murray, and Arizona is set up to be a power in the NFC West for years. The roster is dynamic and isn't going anywhere.

Kingsbury would be a fool to go back to college. His system and style are working in the NFL where he failed in college. He's in a great spot with a 24-year-old franchise quarterback and an elite No. 1 receiver in DeAndre Hopkins. He's in a dream scenario. Oh, and he lives here:

Kingsbury signed a four-year deal with the Cardinals and he's currently in his third season. This Oklahoma speculation will work perfectly for him to lock down a big money extension. He's earned it already, but the dollar amount will be much higher thanks to interest from the Sooners. He'll leverage every bit of that talk to score himself even more money.